Have you thought about galley Bay in antigua? step straight on to beautiful beach & food excellent. good deals ca be found, especially from UK.

Just from your screen name I am going to suggest Goldeneye in Jamaica.

....the cottages/villas are right on the water too

If you don't want to spend that kind of $, for $100-200 a night there are many boutique hotels in Negril that you can step out of your room onto sand from. Whistling Bird (would be hut-like too), Beach House Villas, the verandah suites at Nirvana, Idle Awhile, the beach house at Lazy Dayz....

Look at www.youngisland.com-- we've visited it several times and were never diappointed. Food is excellent. A real lay back and relax place. Cottages right on the beach -- a few seconds from bed to water!! Prices in off season especially good -- off the beaten path.

If I am to take the hut thing seriously i can suggest the Acajou in Trinidad www.acajoutrinidad.com which fits your needs exactly. For a little more in the way of amenities try Blue Waters Inn in Tobago.

Eden Rock on St Barts has some upscale small places on the beach. $600 is possible. Right next to some great places like Nikki Beach

shaken....not stirred (OK I couldn't help myself, sorry). For small, very inexpensive, not much to do except veg, snorkel, drink, explore across the street rainforest, and eat, we're going to stay at Banana Boat Inn in Tobago for two weeks in April. I dive so that's important, but it is in Charlottesville, one of the loveliest bays I've ever seen in the Caribbean. It's like $70/nite for two, under 20 meters from the beach and very quiet looking location. Also has a restaurant and bar on site. We found it while we were exploring Tobago our last trip (sept 05) and decided that would be our next trip. It is isolated, but rental cars are available and driving Tobago is interested (left side driving). Oh yeah, Ian Fleming owned an island off Speyside which is about a 10 minute drive from Charlottesville. Website for BBI is www.banana-boat-tobago.com

Good Luck

www.capjulcua.com It's not a hut, but it is right on the beach, it is boutique and steps from the water. If you go in the off-season, you can get a room for around $400.00 a night, not cheap, but alot less than $600.00 Food is ridiculous at the resort. But there are lots of local restaurants that are amazing and reasonable: Tasty's, Flavours, Uncle Ernie's.

Wow. So many good suggestions... I wonder if there are any of these awesome little huts on Bonaire, or if any of the ones mentioned above cater to divers... shore diving in particular.

James, Have you thought about renting directly from owners of properties. We have rented an oceanfront property in TC for the past 4 years saving approximately $1000 over resort rates. By renting from an owner you will know exactly where your room will be. The unit we rent doesn't come with maid service everyday, which maybe a problem for some people, but isn't a concern for us. There is a dishwasher, washer and dryer in the unit. If you're interested in renting privately, vrbo.com has rentals all over the world.

Interesting that someone revived this thread from 2005.. but the topic never ages.

The current (Feb/Mar 08?) issue of Caribbean Travel and Life features an article on 25 hotels "smack on the beach", that might get you thinking.

look at http://www.villabellemer.com